Cheikh M’Bengue recently claimed Arsenal are interested in signing him and says he would be keen on a move to The Emirates.
So here are 10 things you should know about the Toulouse left-back who wants to join Arsene Wenger’s side:
1. The 24-year-old Frenchman has been with his hometown club Toulouse since he was seven.
2. Following the 2006-07 season, M’Bengue graduated from the club’s youth academy at 18 and was promoted to Toulouse’s Championnat de France amateur squad.
3. The following season he earned call-ups to the first-team and made his debut for the club on the 15th of September 2007 against Marseille, coming on as a substitute.
4. Three weeks after making his debut, the Frenchman started his first-game for Toulouse. A game which he suffered a 2-1 defeat to Saint-Etienne.
5. During the 2007-08 season, the full-back was handed a 13 game suspension by the French Federation after receiving a red card for a dangerous challenge on a AS Monaco reserve player. As a result, he wasn’t eligible to play for Toulouse until March 2008.
6. Despite being banned by the FFF, M’Bengue was allowed to partake in European competition, which was the UEFA Cup at the time. M’Bengue made the bench several times and made his first start in Toulouse’s 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow.
7. Winter 2008 saw M’Bengue sign his first professional contract, agreeing a three year deal. The following season (2008-09) M’Bengue was promoted to Toulouse’s first-team set and was first-choice left-back ahead of Jeremy Mathieu, who moved shifted to the left winger role.
8. On March 14th 2009, M’Bengue was again embroiled in controversy. While playing again Monaco, the full-back committed a rough challenge on Alejandro Alonso, who was sidelined for the rest of the season. He received a yellow card by the referee but on second viewing the FFF decided to suspend M’Bengue until June 1st – ruling him out for the rest of the season.
9. Despite turning out 12 times for the France Under-21 squad – from 2008-11 – in May 2011, M’Bengue decided to switch allegiance and represent Senegal. On June 4th, M’Bengue was cleared to play for the Lions of Teranga. He has been capped 10 times by the African country.
10. M’Bengue has made 217 Ligue 1 appearances for his hometown club since 2007, netting four goals and creating eight along the way.
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